Man, are those U6 Blue Angels good or what? I'll note that we had goals from Nate (one off his left foot!), McKinley and Alex. Owen's goal was called off by the Ref because he went into a slide to kick the ball but it was still a beauty.
We had great play all around and great stints in goal for McKinley, Maddie and Mason. And we had lots of great play on defense, especially from Brennen, who has amazing instincts for where to be. We had great passing and lots of communication. But the big highlight of the game was a pass that Nate made to Alex. Nate had carried the ball in toward the left side of the goal and realizing that he was in too deep to have a good shot he turned the ball around, saw that Alex was directly in front of the goal about 6 yards out, then called out to Alex before delivering a perfect pass. Unfortunately Alex wasn't able to convert but I told Nate afterward that that was about the best pass I'd ever seen. I call that the big highlight because it's indicative of how these kids are playing as a team. They talk to each other, they look up to see the field, they cover the open space, they anticipate. And when the game is over they're excited about winning but they handle themselves with class and give the other team an earnest "good game". I love being out there when they're playing. Obviously it's fun to have a team that wins but what really makes this group great is that they all feed off of each others enthusiasm and they really want to play better every week.
The U4 Blue Ghosts are great fun too. Noah, Sam and Lucas are improving at an amazing rate going beyond their natural talents and developing real game understanding. Jill is just waiting to find her higher gear. She is in the right spot often enough but just a tick behind on her timing. And Will is right where he should be, hanging out on the field and getting used to it all. The rest will come soon enough.
The Sapphire Bullets had their best game yet despite losing and I'm pretty sure they had more shots on goal than the other team did. They're playing loose and talking a lot on the field, working together more. It's great to watch them develop into a team. They asked me at the end of the game why they always loose. I told them to be patient, keep doing what you're doing and trust each other.
Great work in goal from Nicholas and Helen. Fearless play from both of them. Having Helen in goal allowed us to have Kyle in midfield during the second half and he was great there. Avery, Braden and Nate were relentless in the first half, taking a ton of good shots and Erin did great work in midfield keeping the ball up there for them. Erin has, I think, established her reputation in the league and now most of the other kids know that when she's lining up to kick it you'd better get out of the way.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Week Two
The U4 Ghosts were a real treat to watch this week. Lucas, Noah and Sam all have a single-minded determination to get the ball to the goal that makes them, at this age group, unstoppable. Before the game Sam informed me that he'd "left my hands at home today." Then he asked when we could play that "run around with the ball everywhere game" by which I assume he meant soccer. True to his word Sam kept his hands off the ball and consequently managed to score at least four goals. Noah had five and Lucas had another two. Noah and Lucas are both transitioning quickly from simply focusing on the ball to being able to be aware of their teammates. I saw them both make nice efforts at passing the ball ahead and they both know what it means to "get to the goal" to be in position to take a pass. That sort of field awareness is a big step and really helps them when they move up an age group. Noah made one great pass across the goal that I thought for sure would lead to Jill's first goal but she was a half-step late. She'll get one soon.
The highlight of the game was a run that Sam and Noah were making up the right side. When I yelled out that someone needed to get to the goal both boys simultaneously left the ball and headed up field to the other goal. The other team totally bought the play and followed our boys down field, ignoring the ball. I was fooled too and had no idea where the ball was for a moment. The other coach and I agreed we'd never seen that before.
Thanks to the Epley's for the snack. Noah's mom is up next week for snack duty.
The final score of the U6 Angel's game was kind of a surprise as it felt like we controlled the ball most of the time. We had goals from McKinley and Nate, our two most energetic players and several good shots from Owen and Alex. But in the end the other team had managed three goals. Two of them were shots that were very tough to defend as in each case our keeper's view was blocked by the crowd until the ball was already on him. The kids seemed to really enjoy the game. It was a good, even match-up. Prior to kick-off I talked to them about remembering to stay spread out and try to work "the triangle" which is a simple offense concept where your three forward players try to maintain their spacing between each other and the goal. Well they did get it working and we saw some beautiful passing and dribbling drives. Owen and Alex typically play in middle looking to direct the ball to either Nate or McKinley who, sort of naturally, play as strikers, crashing into the defense directly and frequently dragging the ball with them. If you watch Nate you see that his best chance of getting through the defense is if he faces more than one player. If there is only one defender Nate has to go around and his size can work against him in that case. But if there are two defenders he just crashes through the middle, pulling the ball along with him.
We had great play from Brennen who, in case you didn't know, is Alex's little brother and could still be playing U4. Brennen's feel for the field and where the players are makes him naturally inclined to play that same distributor or "point guard" role that Alex and Owen like and he did jump into that spot several times in this game. Twice in this game I saw him take balls that popped out from a scrum against the wall and re-direct them toward the center. Most kids instinctively kick the ball right back where it came from but I watched Brennen let those two balls roll past him just a bit so that he could then send them up field toward the goal. Good stuff.
Cody joined us this week and had a great stint in goal. He especially liked getting the ball and throwing it out to his team. He has his arm a little high when he throws, like a young Kurt Warner, but we can work on that.
The Bullets played with intensity again and that's all I can ask from them. So many of them are still so new to the game and still developing some basic skills. But so far they show up each week ready to play and they play hard the whole game. We had great stints in goal again from Nicholas and Kyle. Nick and Nate proved to be a very effective fullback tandem and I was honestly hesitant to take them out of there though I know they'd like to try something else occasionally. We missed having Lauren and Liz helping out on offense which showed in the number of times we got the ball into the other team's side only to have no one on hand to take it to the goal.
Some stand out players this week were: Katherine, who plays with great intensity for someone who is only in their third session ever of soccer. Nicholas who persistently made a very deliberate effort while in fullback to try to move the ball out of traffic before attempting a clearing kick. Erin who was so solid in defense the first half. And Helen who had to cover a lot of ground in midfield with Lauren, her normal partner, out for the week.
We could have hung with that team better but for some mistakes on defense in the second half that were more errors of communication than anything else. The effort was there, though, for sure. Good game Bullets.
The highlight of the game was a run that Sam and Noah were making up the right side. When I yelled out that someone needed to get to the goal both boys simultaneously left the ball and headed up field to the other goal. The other team totally bought the play and followed our boys down field, ignoring the ball. I was fooled too and had no idea where the ball was for a moment. The other coach and I agreed we'd never seen that before.
Thanks to the Epley's for the snack. Noah's mom is up next week for snack duty.
The final score of the U6 Angel's game was kind of a surprise as it felt like we controlled the ball most of the time. We had goals from McKinley and Nate, our two most energetic players and several good shots from Owen and Alex. But in the end the other team had managed three goals. Two of them were shots that were very tough to defend as in each case our keeper's view was blocked by the crowd until the ball was already on him. The kids seemed to really enjoy the game. It was a good, even match-up. Prior to kick-off I talked to them about remembering to stay spread out and try to work "the triangle" which is a simple offense concept where your three forward players try to maintain their spacing between each other and the goal. Well they did get it working and we saw some beautiful passing and dribbling drives. Owen and Alex typically play in middle looking to direct the ball to either Nate or McKinley who, sort of naturally, play as strikers, crashing into the defense directly and frequently dragging the ball with them. If you watch Nate you see that his best chance of getting through the defense is if he faces more than one player. If there is only one defender Nate has to go around and his size can work against him in that case. But if there are two defenders he just crashes through the middle, pulling the ball along with him.
We had great play from Brennen who, in case you didn't know, is Alex's little brother and could still be playing U4. Brennen's feel for the field and where the players are makes him naturally inclined to play that same distributor or "point guard" role that Alex and Owen like and he did jump into that spot several times in this game. Twice in this game I saw him take balls that popped out from a scrum against the wall and re-direct them toward the center. Most kids instinctively kick the ball right back where it came from but I watched Brennen let those two balls roll past him just a bit so that he could then send them up field toward the goal. Good stuff.
Cody joined us this week and had a great stint in goal. He especially liked getting the ball and throwing it out to his team. He has his arm a little high when he throws, like a young Kurt Warner, but we can work on that.
The Bullets played with intensity again and that's all I can ask from them. So many of them are still so new to the game and still developing some basic skills. But so far they show up each week ready to play and they play hard the whole game. We had great stints in goal again from Nicholas and Kyle. Nick and Nate proved to be a very effective fullback tandem and I was honestly hesitant to take them out of there though I know they'd like to try something else occasionally. We missed having Lauren and Liz helping out on offense which showed in the number of times we got the ball into the other team's side only to have no one on hand to take it to the goal.
Some stand out players this week were: Katherine, who plays with great intensity for someone who is only in their third session ever of soccer. Nicholas who persistently made a very deliberate effort while in fullback to try to move the ball out of traffic before attempting a clearing kick. Erin who was so solid in defense the first half. And Helen who had to cover a lot of ground in midfield with Lauren, her normal partner, out for the week.
We could have hung with that team better but for some mistakes on defense in the second half that were more errors of communication than anything else. The effort was there, though, for sure. Good game Bullets.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Winter II Week One
My thanks to everyone on the U4 team for enduring the early start this week and my thanks to everyone on the U6 team for enduring the ridiculous parking situation at Pleasure Isle. Hopefully when the side lot isn't covered with snow the parking will be better.
The U4 team called themselves the Ghosts last session (it was a Halloween thing) and elected to keep that name again. The Sapphire Ghosts got off to a great start for the session with a total of seven goals. Lucas had two goals and two assists and Noah put in five goals of his own. Eleen and Jill played with great energy and our two new players, Will and Sam, attacked the ball tirelessly.
Jill's mom and dad got the snack this week. If you're interested in taking a week on the U4 snack schedule shoot me an e-mail.
The U6 Sapphire Seals welcomed some new players and some old friends as well as a graduate from the U4 team. Nate, Mason and Collin were back after taking a few sessions off. Nate was his old mercurial self, dashing all over the field and talking to his teammates like an old pro. Peyton and McKinley are new to the team but not to soccer and both had a great impact in the first game. McKinley was especially impressive in goal and Peyton showed some great soccer IQ. And finally Brennen DeMann moved up from U4 to join his brother Alex with the Seals. Brennen has an amazing sense of the game for a player so young and, like his brother, he's got a killer right foot. Owen and Alex did a good job leading our offense and certainly had some great chances on goal but overall they looked a bit rusty compared to their strong finish last session. With Nate, Peyton and McKinley helping them up front I know they'll get that triangle working again. Kendall was making great strides again, staying in the thick of it. Collin had a very respectable first try at playing keeper. That position is a great place for young players to start to get a sense of the whole field.
The Sapphire Bullets were definitely rusty after a long layoff but they still played with the intensity and confidence they were showing at the end of last session. Liz was back with us after a few sessions off and we were joined by two new players, Nick and Nate Dinkens. Despite going a few goals down early on the Bullets kept plugging away and in the second half they put in three great goals. Lauren had the first on a rebound tap in off a shot from Avery and then Braden and Avery each had goals on very strong kicks from close in. Avery's shot came as she crossed the penalty area in front of the goal from her left to her right. Picking up the ball as it popped out of a scrum she took one dribble step to clear a defender, drilled a shot with her right into the corner of the goal and then circled up to the center line to start again, all without breaking stride.
It was great to see Braden's patience rewarded with a goal as he had picked away at the other team's defense tirelessly, always trying to dribble through their lines and never getting discouraged if he lost the ball and had to circle back for another try. I want to see all the kids develop that sort of tenacity.
We had great stints in keeper from Kyle and Nicholas. In the second half Kyle was a great asset in midfield. Like Braden, he always tries to dribble rather than just kicking away and today he attempted a little step-over move against a player almost twice his size. I'm sure he gets that from his big brother.
Everyone else had great games too. As we go on we just need to work on being more patient with the ball and developing those ball handling skills. My mantra this session is going to be "know where your teammates are, know what your options are".
Great first weekend everybody! See you next week!
The U4 team called themselves the Ghosts last session (it was a Halloween thing) and elected to keep that name again. The Sapphire Ghosts got off to a great start for the session with a total of seven goals. Lucas had two goals and two assists and Noah put in five goals of his own. Eleen and Jill played with great energy and our two new players, Will and Sam, attacked the ball tirelessly.
Jill's mom and dad got the snack this week. If you're interested in taking a week on the U4 snack schedule shoot me an e-mail.
The U6 Sapphire Seals welcomed some new players and some old friends as well as a graduate from the U4 team. Nate, Mason and Collin were back after taking a few sessions off. Nate was his old mercurial self, dashing all over the field and talking to his teammates like an old pro. Peyton and McKinley are new to the team but not to soccer and both had a great impact in the first game. McKinley was especially impressive in goal and Peyton showed some great soccer IQ. And finally Brennen DeMann moved up from U4 to join his brother Alex with the Seals. Brennen has an amazing sense of the game for a player so young and, like his brother, he's got a killer right foot. Owen and Alex did a good job leading our offense and certainly had some great chances on goal but overall they looked a bit rusty compared to their strong finish last session. With Nate, Peyton and McKinley helping them up front I know they'll get that triangle working again. Kendall was making great strides again, staying in the thick of it. Collin had a very respectable first try at playing keeper. That position is a great place for young players to start to get a sense of the whole field.
The Sapphire Bullets were definitely rusty after a long layoff but they still played with the intensity and confidence they were showing at the end of last session. Liz was back with us after a few sessions off and we were joined by two new players, Nick and Nate Dinkens. Despite going a few goals down early on the Bullets kept plugging away and in the second half they put in three great goals. Lauren had the first on a rebound tap in off a shot from Avery and then Braden and Avery each had goals on very strong kicks from close in. Avery's shot came as she crossed the penalty area in front of the goal from her left to her right. Picking up the ball as it popped out of a scrum she took one dribble step to clear a defender, drilled a shot with her right into the corner of the goal and then circled up to the center line to start again, all without breaking stride.
It was great to see Braden's patience rewarded with a goal as he had picked away at the other team's defense tirelessly, always trying to dribble through their lines and never getting discouraged if he lost the ball and had to circle back for another try. I want to see all the kids develop that sort of tenacity.
We had great stints in keeper from Kyle and Nicholas. In the second half Kyle was a great asset in midfield. Like Braden, he always tries to dribble rather than just kicking away and today he attempted a little step-over move against a player almost twice his size. I'm sure he gets that from his big brother.
Everyone else had great games too. As we go on we just need to work on being more patient with the ball and developing those ball handling skills. My mantra this session is going to be "know where your teammates are, know what your options are".
Great first weekend everybody! See you next week!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Winter II Schedules
U4 Schedule (All games on Saturdays)
01/09 8:00 AM Field A
01/16 9:40 AM Field B
01/23 8:00 AM Field B
01/30 9:40 AM Field B
02/06 8:00 AM Field A
02/13 9:40 AM Field A
02/20 8:00 AM Field A
02/27 9:40 AM Field B
U6 Schedule (All games on Saturdays)
01/09 9:40 AM Field A
01/16 8:00 AM Field B
01/23 8:50 AM Field A
01/30 8:50 AM Field A
02/06 8:50 AM Field B
02/13 8:00 AM Field A
02/20 8:50 AM Field B
02/27 8:50 AM Field A
U10 Schedule (All games on Sundays)
01/10 3:50 PM
01/17 3:50 PM
01/24 3:00 PM
01/31 4:40 PM
02/07 4:40 PM
02/14 3:50 PM
02/21 3:00 PM
02/28 Tournament
03/07 Tournament
I will have these schedules posted as links in the menu to the right also.
01/09 8:00 AM Field A
01/16 9:40 AM Field B
01/23 8:00 AM Field B
01/30 9:40 AM Field B
02/06 8:00 AM Field A
02/13 9:40 AM Field A
02/20 8:00 AM Field A
02/27 9:40 AM Field B
U6 Schedule (All games on Saturdays)
01/09 9:40 AM Field A
01/16 8:00 AM Field B
01/23 8:50 AM Field A
01/30 8:50 AM Field A
02/06 8:50 AM Field B
02/13 8:00 AM Field A
02/20 8:50 AM Field B
02/27 8:50 AM Field A
U10 Schedule (All games on Sundays)
01/10 3:50 PM
01/17 3:50 PM
01/24 3:00 PM
01/31 4:40 PM
02/07 4:40 PM
02/14 3:50 PM
02/21 3:00 PM
02/28 Tournament
03/07 Tournament
I will have these schedules posted as links in the menu to the right also.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Week Eight Finale
Great Games for everyone in the last week. It's been a great session and I'm really happy with the progress everyone has made. I'm especially proud of the U10 Bullets who played hard the whole game in the tournament. Great work. See everybody next session I hope.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Week Seven
The Spiders were on fire this week with goals from Noah, Xavier and Lucas. Noah dazzled the other team with his footwork and energy and when he stripes the ball with his shoe laces the other coaches always give me a wide eyed "what was that" sort of look. Brennen has that effect on people too. Xavier has apparently become accustomed to scoring as he had no trouble doubling his previous week's total with two goals. And the clear star of the game was Lucas who, after a long drought, broke through with a trio of goals.The Seals met their match this week. Everyone played very well and maintained their positions with a lot of discipline. Alex had our loan goal on a great shot from just outside the box. Kendall had a great game including a good stint in goal. Kaleb, Justin and Luke played tireless defense but we just couldn't get anything going on the other end. We had no subs so everyone had to play the whole game and they were great, especially Kevin who is at the end of only his first session playing soccer.
Thanks to Ben for running the field with the team for me.
The Bullets played valiantly with barely enough on hand to field a team. Lauren had her first goal of the session and I'm so sorry I missed that. Thanks Lisa and Amy for covering for me. See you all this weekend.
Remember the U4 game is at 8:00 AM Saturday. The U6 is at 8:50. The U10 Tournament is on Sunday.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Week 6 Highlights
The Spiders had a great game Saturday. The big highlight was Xavier's first goal. Jill played hard again and continues to improve every week. Noah had a few goals too.
The Seals were dominant with a couple of excellent goals from Owen and great play from everyone else. Everybody was doing a great job playing off the ball and avoiding being trapped in the corners. Kendall's play was the big highlight of the game. She wasn't just running with the ball. At one point she was dancing with it, trying to get around the other players. Justin, too, was putting his own ball handling skills to the test regularly. I love to see that kind of confidence.
The Bullets got beat but they played really hard this week. I was really proud of all of them. They showed great energy and attacked the ball hard. Still the play, especially in defense, was a bit panicky but it's getting better. Avery led our offense most of the game again with lots of help from Erika and Kyle K. Kyle had our best shot on goal in the first half. Our lone goal was from Helen who put in a beautiful cross from Avery. David is showing great improvement as a defender, playing with the kind of tenacity the position demands. Also of note; I mentioned last week that Jordan was playing so aggressively in defense that I would have to move her up to midfield. Well this week in midfield she began, unprompted by me, to sneak up into offense looking for a shot on goal. Impressive.
We certainly missed Braden and Lauren and look forward to having them back this coming week. Helen, Erin and I will be absent this week as we have a strings recital to attend. Lisa Roedig, Avery's mom, will be filling in for me as coach.
The Seals were dominant with a couple of excellent goals from Owen and great play from everyone else. Everybody was doing a great job playing off the ball and avoiding being trapped in the corners. Kendall's play was the big highlight of the game. She wasn't just running with the ball. At one point she was dancing with it, trying to get around the other players. Justin, too, was putting his own ball handling skills to the test regularly. I love to see that kind of confidence.
The Bullets got beat but they played really hard this week. I was really proud of all of them. They showed great energy and attacked the ball hard. Still the play, especially in defense, was a bit panicky but it's getting better. Avery led our offense most of the game again with lots of help from Erika and Kyle K. Kyle had our best shot on goal in the first half. Our lone goal was from Helen who put in a beautiful cross from Avery. David is showing great improvement as a defender, playing with the kind of tenacity the position demands. Also of note; I mentioned last week that Jordan was playing so aggressively in defense that I would have to move her up to midfield. Well this week in midfield she began, unprompted by me, to sneak up into offense looking for a shot on goal. Impressive.
We certainly missed Braden and Lauren and look forward to having them back this coming week. Helen, Erin and I will be absent this week as we have a strings recital to attend. Lisa Roedig, Avery's mom, will be filling in for me as coach.
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